Cabinet Coat - Tint or Not?

kendog2August 2, 2011

I purchased a gallon of the Ace Cabinet Coat to try on my bathroom cabinets. I'm wondering what the color is like straight out of the can. Should I have it tinted? I want the paint color to be a clean white rather than off-white and plan to use the same paint on my doors and trim. Will it be too bright if I don't have it tinted? It it needs tint, does anyone have suggestions on what color to use? Thanks.

Ken, after 3+ months of working & procrastinating, I'm nearly done with painting my kitchen cabinets with Ace Cabinet & Trim paint. I had picked an off-white and decided it would look dirty, so I ended up adding in more Ultra White to get as close to pure white as I could; it's still a little creamy, but I'm happy. If you want a "clean" white, I think you'll be perfectly happy with the Ace Cabinet & Trim Ultra White without tinting it. Keep in mind, it's a latex/oil hybrid paint, so while it won't yellow in the same way that an oil-based white would, it will likely look a little warmer than a regular latex white. As with any paint color decision, though, it's a good idea to do a sample board with real paint before you tackle a big project.

Here's a messy in-progress shot of my kitchen:

You can probably see that my cabinets aren't as stark white as the fridge. I mixed 2 quarts of Ace Chalk, 1 quart of Ace Casual White (color matched, since Casual White's formula won't divide into a quart), and 1 gallon of plain Ultra White. I have an approximate formula if I need more for future projects. If I were doing it over again, though, I'm not sure I'd tint it.

Have you seen Jenny's Anything Pretty blog? She has a few posts about Ace Cabinet & Trim paint, and I think her white trim is the Ultra White untinted. I used her blog and the cabinet tutorial so often touted here as guidelines, and I'm really happy how it's all turning out. Just remember not to overbrush the paint. It really helped to put some screws into boards for the doors to rest on, too, and to keep wet rags hand to wipe drips. Overall, this paint levels beautifully, and even if you see some slight flaws, you won't notice them once the doors are hung. Don't skimp on brushes! My favorite has been my Purdy Chinex brush.

I'm so sorry I didn't see your reply until now. I forgot to check back after the first day. Your reply was really helpful to me. I read Jenny's blog and the cabinet tutorial. Great information. I'm glad I didn't start on the painting before reading it. Thanks again!